Maroon 5’s awkward Super Bowl halftime show included singer Adam Levine progressively stripping throughout the performance ― prompting many Twitter users to remember Janet Jackson’s famed performance in 2004 and point out that there’s apparently a bit of a double standard.
Justin Timberlake performed with Jackson during the halftime show 15 years ago, and inadvertently exposed one of her breasts ― which had a piece of jewelry over the nipple ― on live television. The so-called “wardrobe malfunction” has haunted her career since.
Timberlake and Jackson have maintained the incident was unintended, but Jackson has carried most of the blame for what happened. Les Moonves, who was the CEO of CBS at the time, has been accused of working to blacklist Jackson since the performance, HuffPost first reported last year.
Nothing comparable happened to Levine after he removed his shirt during this year’s halftime show. And people have noticed.
A spokesman for Jackson declined to comment on Levine.
Clarification: Language in this story has been amended to clarify that Jackson wore a piece of jewelry and not a pasty over her nipple.